This summer we’re going to get a fresh blast of jumpsuit wearing, proton pack carrying paranormal investigators when Paul Feig’s much discussed female-fronted Ghostbusters reboot finally hits the big screen. That, however, is not all we’ll see from the Ghostbusters in the near future. No, we’re not talking about the proposed Channing Tatum and Chris Pratt fronted spin off that’s been bandied about, but the animated Ghostbusters project that’s been in the works just took a big step forward as it has hired a director.
A director at the helm is key for any film project, and according to The Hollywood Reporter, Sony Pictures Animation hired Fletcher Moules to steer their upcoming animated Ghostbusters. Though he’s worked on special effects and in the art department for movies like The Matrix and Star Wars: Episode II, Moules is a relatively unknown commodity. It wasn’t the Australian animator’s work on those films, however, that landed him the job, as he is also the man behind those animated Clash of Clans commercials that are hugely popular. His "Ride of the Hog Riders" has been watched more than 90 million times.
Though we now know that Fletcher Moules will direct the animated Ghostbusters, that’s really all we know about it at this point. Ivan Reitman, who directed both the 1984 original and the 1987 sequel, will produce, but there are no more details available at the moment.
It’s going to be interesting to see what direction the animated Ghostbusters goes. Will this further the adventures of the new female team of Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones, and Kate McKinnon, or will we once again see the classic Ghostbusters Peter Venkman, Egon Spengler, Ray Stantz, and Winston Zeddmore? Or will it follow some other offshoot of this burgeoning new cinematic world?
However the animated Ghostbusters plays out, Sony is putting a lot of stock in this revamped franchise. Not only is the Paul Feig-directed reboot getting a prime summer release date, but they have plans to expand the brand even further. Ivan Reitman and Dan Aykroyd have been enlisted as part of a collective to brainstorm on ways to grow franchise. In addition to that, the studio is still reportedly working to develop the Channing Tatum fronted spinoff. We should be seeing a lot more Ghostbusters in the coming years.
There’s no word when we’ll see the animated Ghostbusters movie, but we’ll get our first glimpse of this new cinematic universe later this year when the live-action Ghostbusters hits theaters on July 15.
